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Pavement Trials

In support of our research effort, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation has constructed a total of 33 test sections, each
500 m in length, with virtually all types of modifiers. These trials were constructed to help validate the new standard test methods
we developed for pavement material selection. Asphalt cements for the trials were supplied by: Shell Canada, Petro-Canada,
McAsphalt Industries, Imperial Oil, Husky Energy, Lafarge Canada, Suite-Kote, Kraton Polymers, Murphy Oil, and several
others. The trials in Timmins (2003 and 2008), Casselman (2007) and Toronto (2009) have already provided a wealth of
information in support of this research. Further information on the trials is provided in the map to the right (click on the map to see a larger image) and the table and images below.

The following set of videos show the 2011 condition of the first seven Highway 655 trial sections after 8 years of service. All trial sections
were designed with asphalt cements of identical Superpave grades (PG-34) but different source. They should all have survived a cold spell in early
2004 but the performance ranges from best-case for the RET-modified material from section 655-1 to worst-case for the SBS-modified binder
from section 655-4. The 655-4 section has prematurely aged (hardened), likely due to the presence of deleterious waste engine oil residue
(a.k.a. rerefined high vacuum distillate oil or RHVDO) in the asphalt cement. Note: For a playlist and/or to increase the video resolution to
1080p HD visit the YouTube site and search ’HespResearchGroup‘.